Neutron Star Collision
by PurpleNeon
Summary: Ginny goes into her sixth year at Hogwarts feeling lost. Her parents thinks that she's going crazy, none of her friends are coming back to school, an she has to worry about her brother's safety. To top it off, she has a big problem that she can't get off her chest. Ginny's life is turned around as she realizes that a certain blonde Slytherin isn't as bad as she'd always thought.
1. Chapter 1

"Ginny, you've changed."

Ginny stared down at her blue trainers. "What do you mean?" she asked, but she knew exactly what her mum was talking about.

"You never laugh much anymore. You don't joke with your brothers. like you used to. You always look sad. I've heard you crying at night, Ginny. And you've been rude to Harry." Mum crossed her arms across her patchwork dress. Her brown eyes were blazing.

Ginny shook her head in disbelief. "Mum, Harry dumped me. You know that. He dumped me and then told me he just wanted to protect me. He felt like I couldn't protect myself."

"Ginny, Harry's just looking out for you. He wants you to be safe, dear. After the war, everything will cool down again. I'm sure that you two can start right where you left off."

She rolled her eyes. "Mum, you don't understand. I've liked Harry for six years. Then he finally likes me, and I think I have a chance. And then after three weeks, he tells me we're over so that I can be safe. Mum, I'm just tired of everyone trying to protect me!"

"Ginny, I'm sure that he's just—"

"Mum, I don't know why we're having this conversation. It isn't even about Harry!"

Ginny sat down heavily on the couch, and her mother followed her lead. "Ginny. Your father and I are worried about you."

She knew that already—they were always worried about her. "I know, Mum. But I'm a big girl now and I can take care of myself."

Her mum's eyebrows creased. "I'm not so sure about that, Ginevra."

"Please don't call me that."

"Ginny, Dear, I know that you don't like your name, but everyone else thinks that it's beautiful. Don't be ashamed of yourself, Ginevra."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm serious, Mum. Don't call me that. Ever."

"We'll take about that later, dear. But can you please tell me what the problem is? We can help you!"

She stood up. She could feel her face getting—she was getting mad. "Mum. Are you honestly saying you haven't noticed anything until this year?"

"Ginny, I—"

"You haven't." She started to back towards the stairs. Her heart sank. Her mum was the one person She had thought that she could count on and she didn't even notice that Ginny had slowly become only a fraction of myself. "Mum, do you think that it's about Harry? Well, you're wrong. It's about Tom." She turned fully, and dashed up the stairs. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Arthur, she's obviously traumatized!"

"Molly, if you could just calm down—"

"What if he's back in her head again?"

"Molly, I am almost one hundred percent sure that Ginny is fine. She just doesn't want us to know that it's really Harry she's upset about. He was her first love, Molly—"

Ginny ripped the extendable ear out of her own and threw it at Fred. "There, she hissed, "You can keep it."

Fred frowned. "Gin, what's—"

She shook her head. "Just listen." She leaned back against the wall. She was fighting tears, but she bravely didn't let it show.

Fred put the cord back up to his ear and leaned closer to the edge of the stairs. He'd pulled her down here in the middle of the night when he'd heard them mention Ginny's name. By now, she was fully awake.

Fred's eyebrows shot up. She wondered what he was hearing.

"What's he saying?"

"Ginny, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it—"

"What did he say, Fred!"

"He said you were overreacting and it's just hormones."

Ginny sat back on her heels. "Hormones. I'm possessed, taken down into a dark, cold chamber, and tortured, and he calls it hormones?" She could feel her eyes starting to get wet. She swiped at them angrily with the corner of her sweatshirt. "Don't cry, dammit," Ginny muttered angrily.

Fred put his hand on her shoulder. "He's being a jerk, Gin. Don't listen to him."

Her lip started to tremble. "Fred, but he—"

"I know. He's not thinking right, Gin. He's being stupid. He doesn't mean it."

"Yes, he does."

"Ginny—"

"I'm going to bed."

She stood up and her knees trembled. Hormones. Did her father honestly think she'd get this depressed because of hormones? Tom Marvolo Riddle ruined her life. He scarred her forever. She's scarred and her own father blames it on hormones. She didn't even want to think about how they hadn't noticed for years. That hurt her—even Ginny herself had noticed that she had been going downhill.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of this. J. K. Rowling owns everything.

A/N: So this story I already have on a site called Figment. I have 7 or so chapters written already. I'll be putting them up as soon as I finish editing them for the last time.

Anyways, I hope that you like this story. I've been working on it for a while. I started about a year ago, and forgot about it until January or so.

It was inspired by the song Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever) by Muse. Check it out if you have time, it's one of my favorite songs right now.


	2. Chapter 2

It was hot, approaching the highest it had been for five years. Everyone had trails of sweat going down their faces and nobody wanted to go outside. And yet, Bill and Fleur's wedding must go on. Hermione and Ginny had to strip the beds, Mum had to cook, Harry and the Weasley brothers had to set up the tent, tables, and chairs, and Phlegm sat back and watched. Her long manicured fingers gestured wildly, and she commanded them to "Make zat chair clozer to ze table, 'Arry. Molly, I think zat ze casserole should be a little 'otter before you are done. Ginny, could you be a dear and fetch me some water from ze tap?" Frankly, she was driving everyone bonkers. Even Bill had started avoiding her.

On the morning of the wedding she came into Ginny's room carrying a long bag. Ginny couldn't keep her eyes off of her hot pink track suit—it burned her eyes. "Ginny, I picked zis out because your 'air color would not match silver or pink. Gabrielle will be wearing zis style of ze nude dress, also."

"Oh, thanks." Ginny stood from her bed. Her fingers were numb from being clenched into fists; she had just found out that Luna wasn't coming back to school this year. That made six that she knew of—Harry, Ron, Hermione, Collin, Seamus, and now Luna.

Her fingers fumbled on the zipper but eventually the bag was off. Ginny almost gagged. It was nude colored, but Fleur had taken every opportunity to make it over the top. There were beads, ribbons, bows, feathers, lace, and more. It was hideous. "Fleur—"

Her face broke into a smile. "Oh, Ginny! I knew you would just love eet!"

Ginny paused. "Yeah. It's—er—pretty." Ginny didn't want her mad at her now—not when she was so close to becoming her sister-in-law. One thing she know about Fleur is that she holds a grudge.

The next thing Ginny knew, she was being swept up and had her face pushed up against Fleur's chest. "Oh, Ginny," she said, "I am ever so 'appy that we are going to be sisters!"

Ginny uncomfortably patted her back. "So am I," she grunted, furtively trying to dislodge herself from Fleur's grasp. "But don't you have to go get ready for your big day?"

"Oh!" Fleur pushed Ginny back and gasped. "Yes, yes! Thank you so much for reminding me, Ginny. I will see you at ze ceremony!" She ran out of the room, leaving Ginny alone with the monstrosity that was her dress.

She sighed. Ginny knew Bill would never forgive her if she made Fleur mad on her wedding day, so she let it go. Maybe they would learn to get along.

The door opened again, and Hermione slipped in. "Have you heard what Fleur wants now?" She sat down on Ginny's bed.

"No, what?"

"She's decided that the tent is too close to the house; she wants to move it ten feet back."

"You're kidding!" Ginny said, pushing her dress to the side. Along with it, she shoved away any thoughts of Luna, Harry, or her 'hormones'. "And who's she going to persuade to move it? The men from the company left about an hour ago."

"Apparently, your brothers."

Ginny shook her head. "She's bonkers. Just when I think she's not too bad, she does something like this."

Hermione laughed. "I know. Anyways, your mum told me I should come check on you. She said you've been in your room the whole morning, and you've hardly come down the whole last week."

Ginny shrugged. Had it really been that long?

"Ginny, is everything okay?"

She sighed. "Luna's not coming back to Hogwarts. Neither is Collin or Seamus or any of you lot. And—" I thought back to the conversation I'd overheard a few weeks ago. "And Fleur is driving me mad," Ginny finished lamely. She didn't want Hermione thinking she was going crazy, too.

"Luna? Oh, Ginny, I'm sorry. I know that she's one of your closest friends." Hermione wrapped her arm around Ginny's shoulders. "I—I really do want to go back, you know," she said quietly. "I've always thought education is my number one priority. I don't know if I'll be able to take my seventh year over again, after everything settles down. Then, maybe I won't get a good job. But Harry and Ron need me. I think we both know that."

Both girls laughed a little bit. "I know they do," Ginny muttered. "I'm trying not to complain,but—who am I supposed to study with? Or eat with?"

"I'm sorry, Gin."

There was a knock on the door, and she pulled away from Hermione. "Yeah?"

"Is Hermione in there?" It was Ron.

"Yeah."

"Okay. Er—Hermione, can you come out here a minute? There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Okay?" Hermione looked confused, but she stood, and pulled at her shirt. "Gin, if you ever need to talk, I'm here, okay?"

Ginny nodded and smiled. "Thanks, 'Mione."

As she left, Ginny unfolded the letter from Luna again.

'Dear Ginny...'


	3. Chapter 3

Ginny could easily pick Harry out in a room full of people. Ever since she'd first met him he was the first person her eyes sought out—even when she was much too scared to talk to him, even when Ginny had a boyfriend, and even now. He was wearing his dress robes like everyone else. They had green in them to bring out his eyes.

"Ginny, come on!" Gabrielle said, patting on Ginny's elbow. "We 'ave to start walking now."

She pulled herself away from thoughts about Harry and smiled at Gabrielle. "Yeah, okay," Ginny said, pulling on her dress one last time. "I'm ready." As she walked down the aisle, Ginny looked everywhere but at Harry James Potter.

"Hey, Gin," Ron said, sitting down next to her. "You look…nice." Ginny's brother looked uncomfortable even saying that. Out of all her siblings, Ron was the most awkward.

"Thanks," Ginny said with a smile, smoothing out her skirt. "You look nice, too." He was silent, looking down at his dress robes. They were old—a hand-me-down from some relative who'd probably owned them for longer than Ron had been alive.

"Does it ever bother you?" He asked suddenly, looking Ginny right in the eye, a fiery look in his eyes.

"Does what ever bother me?" she asked, blinking.

"How we barely have a knut to spare, while the Delacours can throw away millions on a wedding without batting an eye. It doesn't seem fair, does it?" Ron was getting worked up. "Even Hermione has more money that us to spare and she's a muggle-born. Dad works harder than anyone I know, and what does he get? Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Ginny was silent. "Ron," she whispered, putting a hand on his arm. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but we don't have it too bad."

Her brother snorted, crossing his arms. "Yeah, uh huh."

Ginny's forehead creased. "Think about the people that have one pair of clothes and live on the streets."

Ron was silent. Ginny almost thought she saw a tear in his eye, but that couldn't be—Ron was one of the strongest people she knew. "Think of people like the Malfoys. Their family probably never even sits down to dinner together—I doubt they love each other as much as our family does."

Ron nodded, sighing. He put his head in his hands. "Sorry, Gin." He muttered. "I didn't mean to dump that on you."

Ginny nodded, leaning back in her chair. "Where did that come from?" she asked, curious.

Ron shrugged. "I got an owl from Gringotts the other day," he whispered, sounding ashamed. "It was reminding me to set up a vault because I'm an adult now. They told me to reply saying how much I wanted to put in at the start, but it had all these minimum amounts. 'No less than 1,000 nuts, 300 sickles, and 100 galleons can be put in at the start of a vault." He swallowed. "Ginny, I don't even have half of that! All my money from working in Fred and George's shop, taking care of Mrs. Lowing's kids, any job I've ever had in my life doesn't add up to that because I've spent most of it on crap."

Ginny frowned. "Did you tell Mum or Dad?"

"No…I didn't tell anyone. I was embarrassed. I sent them an owl back saying that I want to keep my money in the family vault, but I know they'll owl back every few years."

Ginny smiled widely. "By then you'll be an auror," she said confidently. "And I've heard aurors get paid buckets. And by then you and 'Mione will married so she'll contribute some, too."

"I—Mione—married—us—WHAT?!" He sputtered, his eyes wide.

Ginny laughed loudly. She leaned comfortably back in her chair. "You're kidding, right? You're not that dim, are you? I've seen how you two look at each other. I'm not a fool."

"But…we—"

He was cut of by a shriek. Then another, and another.

They jumped up. For the first few seconds of the unknown, Ginny's heart was in her throat. Death Eaters. There were so many of them, everywhere, breaking things and grabbing people. Everyone was running, disapperating. Ginny's mind wasn't working-nothing was processing. Why wasn't she panicking? Shouldn't she be panicking? She couldn't believe it—the Burrow was supposed to be one of the safest places there was. With one look at Ron's eyes, Ginny knew. He, Harry, and Hermione had to go.

"I love you," Ginny whispered, reaching for him. But suddenly she couldn't move. There were two cold arms around my stomach, holding her back. Ginny knew at once that they weren't there as a hug. "Go!" She shrieked at Ron, trying to rip the hands off. But they stayed firm. "GO!" She screamed again, trying to turn to see his face. Why wasn't she thinking straight? What was happening?

"You're not going anywhere," the man hissed, and Ginny felt pain on my chest. She screamed. It felt like her whole body was being ripped to pieces, starting from her chest and down to her stomach. And then, she could feel the warm, wet blood dripping down, staining her dress. But Ginny didn't care. The only thought on her mind was the pain.

"Stay still!" The man's voice sounded familiar, she noticed through the pain. It sent chills down her spine, and Ginny tried harder to escape. She heard Ron's voice, screaming, yelling at this mystery man. Out of the corner of her eyes, Ginny saw Hermione and Harry grab her brother, trying to tell him they needed to go, to leave. If Ginny's mind had been working better, she would have been heartbroken-Harry hadn't given her a second glance. He wasn't the least bit worried about Ginny.

"Ginny!" she heard once more, and knew it was Ron again. But then his voice was gone. And so were Harry and Hermione. Gone to who-knows-where, but they were safe.

"Let me go!" she screamed, wiggling and trying to break his grip, ignoring the pain in her stomach. He'd cut her with something—a knife, a shard of broken glass. Around me, there were people fighting—aurors, Death Eaters, family, and friends. They were all fighting.

"Why?" The Death Eater asked, his velvety voice amused.

Ginny knew just then who he was. And she made one last effort to turn and find his icy grey eyes that were surely mocking her, remembering the last time they'd met. But she couldn't move to see those eyes. Ginny was frozen with pain, and with terror. No. All she saw was black. Her pain was gone, and everything was blissfully silent.


	4. Chapter 4

When Ginny woke she kept her eyes squeezed shut. Though her memories of what happened were fuzzy, she knew that she didn't want to go back to that quite yet. Her side hurt. It felt like someone was pushing pins into her over and over, each one hurting more than the last.

"Why isn't she waking up?" Ginny knew that voice.

"Bill, you worry too much," Mum scolded, but there was a wavering sound to her voice. "I'm sure she'll be waking up any moment now."

There was a silence. In the back of her mind, she wondered how many people were gathered around her bed. Was it just Bill and Mum? Or was it Ginny's whole extended family, excluding Ron, Harry, and Hermione?

"Ginny?" That was her father's strained voice. "Ginny dear? Can you hear me?"

"Dad?" Ginny opened her eyes slowly, but shut them again at the blinding light.

"Oh, Ginny!" Someone grabbed her. Ginny assumed that it was her mum. But her elbow hit Ginny stomach ever so lightly, and she let out a hiss at the sudden waves of pain. "Oh!" her mum cried, jumping away.

"I'm fine, Mum." But Ginny wasn't, and she knew it. The throbbing in her stomach worsened, which she remembered was the result of the Death Eater attack. Ginny slowly opened her eyes once again. Once her vision was focused, she saw that her mum, Dad, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Fleur, and Aunt Muriel all standing around the couch. Standing a ways off were Mad-Eye Moody and Kingsley.

Molly Weasley straightened, wiping a tear from her eye. "But Ginny, you're not!"

Fred grabbed her hand, and George hovered nervously behind his twin. "Malfoy got you," Fred explained. "Though I reckon you put up a bit of a fight before he did." His voice cracked. This wasn't like them—usually Ginny's twin brothers saw the humor in everything. What weren't they telling her?

Ginny's eyes traveled around. she tried to ignore the growing pain. Her brothers were all solemn, though Charlie and Fred's eyes held a bit of nervousness in them. Auntie Muriel looked terrified, and was wringing her hands while blinking rapidly. Her dad had his wand out, and was trying to look busy by healing a burn on Bill's arm, but Ginny knew she saw a glimmer in his eyes.

"I—I—I did everything I could," Mum stammered, a tear rolling down her cheek. "But I just…I don't…I couldn't…" she put her face in her hands.

"Mum?" IGinny said with a feeling nausea in her stomach to add on to the pain. "Did Lucius Malfoy cut me with something?"

"No," Mad-Eye said in a gruff voice. He stepped away from the wall. "He used dark magic. It was a spell that neither I, Shacklebolt, Tonks, nor any of the other aurors could identify."

"But what did it do to me?"

"We're not entirely sure," Kingsley said. "It wouldn't fully heal when we tried. Mad-Eye did everything that he could, but the only thing it did was to create a thin scab over it. Tonks told me we were lucky we could stop to bleeding at all."

Ginny looked down. She was lying on our old couch in the living room with a red knitted blanket thrown over her. Pulling that off, she saw that she was wearing a loose black shirt and sweatpants. "Is it really bad?" Ginny whispered, her hand twitching over the bottom of her shirt. Nobody answered. Ginny pulled at the shirt.

She gasped. It started at the left side of her waist and traveled up over her belly-button to end under her opposite armpit. As Kingsley had said, it had started to scab, but it was still an ugly red cut. And it hurt more than anything Ginny had ever felt before, even when she had struggled against Tom's presence in her head_. _But the pain was only half of the problem. The cut wasn't only a line—it read 'BLOOD TRAITOR'.

"Mum…" Ginny said, and her vision blurred. "I…I…" My voice wavered off. Mum put her hand over her mouth.

"Does it hurt badly, dear?" Mum asked anxiously. "You had fainted when we found you on the ground. At first we thought you'd gone with…with Ron and the others because we couldn't find you." Her voice broke on_Ron._

"It hurts, Mum," Ginny said quietly. One of her flaws was that she didn't like to have help. Ginny wanted to be strong, and not need to rely on other people. But then, all she wanted was for the pain to go away. "Why isn't there a bandage on it?"

"It kept burning through them. We tried, Ginny." Charlie's voice sounded desperate. "We really tried. But I think it'll get better. It looks like it will get better. It scabbed over, and that's a relief. And we gave you a pain killing potion, so hopefully it'll feel better soon. And—"

"Charlie." Ginny said, and tried to smile. It came out as a grimace. "I'm alright."

But Ginny wasn't alright. she felt small, weak, and miserable. She felt like she was back down in the Chamber again, with Tom's velvety voice whispering in her ear. And once again, it was all Lucius Malfoy's fault.


	5. Chapter 5

*Six weeks later*

Ginny had started to think to occupy herself. Without Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Percy, Bill, Charlie, Luna, or _anyone,_she was sure she'd begun to go crazy. Ginny couldn't remember the last time that she'd been alone long enough to just think about things. When she was 8? 9? 10? Her family was big enough that there were always people at her house.

Alone, her mind traveled back to her first year at Hogwarts—the worst year of Ginny's entire life. She knew in the back of her mind that Tom (as she would always think of him) was not possessing her, but some nights it felt like he was there again, controlling her dreams. The dreams were worse than they ever had been—even right after Harry had rescued Ginny from the Chamber. Then, they were mainly scattered thoughts, parts of a whole, faded over time with the help of a potion Mum had made. But now, years later, they were fully formed memories. Ginny remembered everything—every scream, every cry, every word Tom had said to her was all burned in her mind. And they all replayed night after night, each dream ending with a pair of icy grey eyes staring at her.

Now, Ginny realized that Tom wasn't the one she feared. No, she was even more terrified of Lucius Malfoy. It was his fault, wasn't it? He was the one that had given Ginny the diary, and the one that had carved letters into her skin. He, too, haunted her dreams.

Though Tom and Lucius Malfoy controlled many of Ginny's thoughts, she had other lesser things she worried about. One was the fact that it seemed two in every three people were dropping out of Hogwarts—Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Collin and his brother, Seamus, Lucy, Linnie and Minnie, the Patils, and a smattering of others she either didn't know or care as much about. Out of her four dorm mates, three were leaving, which left Ginny with Romilda Vane, who was simply obnoxious. She snores, and snorts, and thinks herself to be higher than anyone. And to add on to that, she fancies the same Harry Potter that Ginny does. Or did, she supposed.

Luna and Lucy were already at the New York Academy of Magical Learning in America, the twins Minnie and Linnie had moved toFrance to go to Beauxbatons, Collin was grounded and homeschooled, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were just _gone_.

Neville was coming back, Ginny had found out, but she couldn't even imagine trying to talk to him about much else other than her Herbology homework.

Ginny was stuck alone with her mother. The list of what she did to occupy herself was depressingly short—write letters, help her mum with the housework, experiment with spells, read, and think too much. When Ginny thought for too long, she ended up thinking of either the cut or the Chamber, which occasionally brought on a lengthy panic attack with could result in a day of trembling and jumpiness. Then, Ginny scares her parents, and they've begun to get more and more worried. Ginny had almost forgiven her father about the hormone incident. He had been so caring over the past few weeks that she had just been trying to forget about it.

Ginny's train of thoughts led back to the current as she was sitting on her bed trying to read. _Reading, _she thought_, is overrated. There are countless things that can distract herile reading and half the time the story isn't even remotely good. And then while she—her in_ternal rant was cut short by a slash of pain in Ginny's stomach that made her vision go red. She screamed, doubling over. Burning streaks of pain shot through Ginny's body, paralyzing her.

"Mum!" She could already hear her hurried footsteps.

"Coming, dear." It wasn't anything new—at least once a day her body suddenly froze up and the pain consumed her, making it hard to breath. Madame Pomfrey had given Ginny medicine which supposedly 'helped', but she doubted it helped any more than Jessica Yveklin could 'help' the Harpies.

Pomfrey came every five days bearing medicine for a checkup. Headmistress McGonagall (as she was now) had heard from Tonks that Ginny had been hurt, and Dumbledore's portrait had heard from her, and he had sent Pomfrey to check up on her.

"Is it getting any better, dear?" Mum asked, opening Ginny's door. She held a vial of medicine and a letter in her hand.

"No…" She groaned, pulling up my shirt. Even though she hated looking at it, it always felt better when there wasn't anything touching it. It didn't look much different from the first time Ginny had seen it—it still had a crusty scab over it, and hadn't healed a bit. The first time she had stood up, the scab had broken, and blood had bubbled out. Pomfrey had used a spell that put a solidifying clear paste over it that had luckily prevented the scab from cracking again. But every day—sometimes multiple times—Ginny had these 'Episodes', as she'd come to call them. It didn't matter where she was—if she was standing, sitting, laying, or leaning—they ensnared her.

"Here you go, dear," Mum said, handing Ginny the vial. "Drink it all this time."

She took it all in one swallow. "Ugh." The medicine tasted like a mixture of vomit, earwax, and rotten eggs. But she always drank it.

The last time Bill had visited, he'd said that it seemed like Ginny didn't care that she was hurt. Ginny disagreed immensely. She would have the ugly scar forever. It was more that she'd begun to deal with it.

"I was going to come up here anyways. You've got a letter from Luna."

"Thanks, Mum," Ginny said, taking it from her. The pain had died down, and she hoped that maybe the medicine had started to work. Mum left again, back to washing the dishes. Ginny opened the letter, careful not the get a paper cut from the envelope.

_Dear Ginny,_

_I miss you already. My classes started yesterday. Sadly, Lucy isn't in any of them. But there is this one boy named Max. Ginny, I think I like him. But I won't go on about that. I hope your brother's burn is better. It's so fortunate that no one got seriously hurt during the Death Eater attack. I'm sorry that I didn't get to say goodbye, but Dad whisked me away before anyone even realized the Death Eaters were there. I'm so glad you and I weren't hurt. I'm liking my classes, except for one—potions. No surprise thee, eh? I think as of now I'd have either a P or a D, depending on the results of our latest lab. I must say I'm going to miss Snape screaming 'Detention, Mr. Creevey!' Although Americais amazing, I already miss you and Hogwarts._

_Love you, Gryffie!_

_Luna Lovegood_

Ginny hadn't told anyone other than her family about the cut. It was something that she wanted to keep to herself.

Also something Ginny wanted to keep secret was her thoughts, which luckily were safe for now. Because even though she never would admit it, a darkness loomed over her. She constantly had a feeling of dread. She felt like Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in danger, and Ginny knew that she couldn't save them.

Ginny thought of the three as little as possible, because she knew that if she thought too much, she'd start to panic because her brother, ex-boyfriend, and close friend were gone. For all she knew they might be dead.


	6. Chapter 6

By the time that September first came around, Ginny was convinced that Hogwarts would be empty. Six more people owled her or one of her friends to say that their parents had dragged their family to some far off country, new school, or distant relative's house for a long visit. And, lucky for Ginny, Neville came down with the flu and would be coming to Hogwarts late. So unless she wanted to sit with Romilda Vane, Ginny was going to be alone on the train.

She didn't tell her mum and dad about the drop in attendance. They worried bout Ginny anyways, and she didn't want them to pull her out of school. But she knew they would find out eventually.

The Cut, as Ginny started to call it, hadn't visibly changed. It wasn't better or worse, at least on the surface. Luckily, the paralyzing waves of pain, or her 'Episodes' as Ginny thought of them, had started to go away. She was proud to say that the last one had been nine days ago. But even if Ginny was staying completely still it lightly throbbed. That hadn't changed a bit. On her last visit, Pomfrey said the medicine wasn't needed anymore, but every month Ginny had to come to see her just in case.

"Ginny," Her mum called, "We're leaving in an hour."

Ginny glanced up from the book she was reading. "Thank Merlin," she muttered, shutting it loudly. Traveling With Trolls by Gildory Lockhart. Duller than dirt, in her opinion. Mum still idolizes him even though he's gone completely bonkers and is shut up in Saint Mungo's.

Ginny stood up and stretched her arms, looking around her. There was nothing she would miss in the room. The view of the gnomes, the dull books, the stuffed toys she'd had since she was little. Everything had lost their good qualities when Ginny was stuck in her room staring at them for days on end.

"Ginny?"

"Yes, Mum?"

"Did you get the clothes I put out?"

Ginny sucked in her breath, trying not to get mad. Mum and Dad were treating her like she was five years old again. In the evening, Mum gathered up anything Ginny needed to do in the morning and stacked everything up outside her door. Then, she would come in and help her pick out the clothes she was going to wear. Just like Ginny was little again, not able to make decisions. But her mum had decided that as long as she wasn't stressed, Ginny wouldn't be in pain. "Yes, Mum." Ginny never actually wore the clothes her mother laid out.

She stood in front of her mirror, staring at herself. She didn't see little Ginny Weasley anymore. She saw a girl whose eyes were wide and haunted, full of fear for herself and her family. She saw hopelessness, knowing that Ginny could never be fully healed. There was anticipation in her eyes—she was just waiting for the day they would come for them again, ready to kill this time. Ginny was waiting for the news of Harry, Ron and Hermione's deaths. She also saw strength, because Ginny was a girl who would keep fighting until the end.

Ginny also noticed that her hair was in knots.

She seized her hairbrush, tugging it through Ginny's hair almost violently. She put her red hair up. Back down. Up again, trying to figure out which was better. Then Ginny realized—it didn't matter because there was no Harry Potter there to watch her. There was no Collin there to tease her. There was no Luna there to compliment her. Ginny felt utterly and terribly alone.

She fell to the floor and let out a sob.

* * *

"Owl us a ton dear," Molly said, hugging Ginny gently. She hadn't been there for her cry but Ginny was sure she knew that something was wrong.

"We'll miss you, Ginny." Arthur added, smiling sadly.

"Bye," Ginny said quietly. "Love you." She waved and backed away towards the train. A nice seventh year boy had already taken her trunk. She knew they'd never talked, but she felt like she should remember his name. Zandori? Zikini? Zabini? Ginny was sure he was a Ravenclaw.

Ginny knew that she was early—her watch read 10:33—but the train still shouldn't have been as empty as it was. She looked around, trying to find familiar faces. There were some, not many. Alyssa Wood. Benjamin Grante. But no one Ginny knew well.

She quickly went to change into her robes. When she came back, there didn't seem to be many more people. She chose the first compartment Ginny saw. She dropped her bag down next to her on the seat and sat down. She glanced out the window. There were still many parents there, solemnly hugging their children and waving. Her parents were already gone, Arthur back to work and Molly to pay Fred and George a visit. It was nothing compared to the mass of people during Ginny's first year at Hogwarts. Then, she had felt like she was drowning in a sea of bodies.

"Weasley?" Ginny's head turned around so fast her neck cracked. She winced, rubbing the spot that was sore. Her eyes settled on a face with grey eyes and a smirk. What in the name of Merlin was Draco Malfoy doing at Hogwarts? Everybody knew he was a Death Eater—he'd tried to kill Dumbledore last year! What was McGonagall thinking, letting that malevolent little ferret back into a school?

"Malfoy? What do you want?"

"I want to know why you're sitting in my compartment." He sounded tired, and Ginny realized he looked it, too. He has dark bags under his eyes. His face seamed older, weathered, almost. In his eyes, the same hopeless look as when Ginny looked in the mirror. What had happened to Draco Malfoy?

"It's not your compartment, Malfoy," Ginny continued icily.

"Well, I've sat here every year to and from school since my first year." He nodded to a spot behind Ginny and leaned casually against the door.

"You carved your name into the side of a Hogwarts compartment?" I raised an eyebrow. "How vain of you."

"I don't think of it that way." Even tired, his grey eyes were so like his father's cutting into Ginny's."Now, are you moving soon?"

Ginny shook her head. She wouldn't lose this fight. She wanted to prove to herself that she still had to strength to argue persistently. "Nope. I'm not going anywhere."

He sighed. "Pity," he said. He walked into the compartment, and plopped down across from Ginny. Her eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?" She asked sharply.

"Sitting," he replied, "and I'm warning you—my friend Blaise is coming, too. He probably won't let you stay."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'm more surprised that you have friends at all."

"Haha," he said dryly. "I do, in fact. But it looks like you don't." His eyebrows raised and he gestured to the empty seat beside Ginny. She glanced out the window, a pang of hurt digging through her. She shouldn't let that get to her, but it did. Ginny felt so vain and flighty, but she had never been this alone. The train had started moving, and they were suddenly racing past fields of cows.

"Knock, knock?" A voice asked. Ginny turned to see who it was. It was the same boy who had helped her with her luggage earlier.

"Finally, Blaise." Malfoy's eyes darted to me. "We have—unexpected—company." Ginny blinked. He was Malfoy's friend? He'd been so...nice. But Ginny remembered something—Ron talking about an obnoxiously nice and smart Slytherin named Zabini.

Blaise Zabini glanced between Ginny and Malfoy with an amused look on his face. "What's the little Weaslette doing here?" Ginny frowned. When had he come up with that?

"She got here before me. She doesn't want to move." Malfoy rolled his eyes.

Zabini plopped down next to him. They were the exact opposite—Zabini had dark skin and Malfoy was as pale as anyone could be. Zabini seemed hyperactive, and Malfoy looked exhausted. "That's okay!" he chirped. "Pansy and Daphne are sitting with some Ravenclaw. This one will have to do." He winked at Ginny. "Besides, Draco, I know that Parkinson annoys the hell out of you."

"She just doesn't understand that I hate her."

"Mate, I think she's obsessed." Ginny was surprised at how easily they were talking with her there. She had been expecting the train ride to be silent.

"Daphne seemed to have been hanging around your house a lot this summer," Malfoy raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Did you get any?"

"Nah, Mum was starting to think I'd sworn off girls because I never brought any home. She panicked that I'd never have an heir and our line would be lost."

Ginny shook her head and turned her eyes back to the window. It was going to be an extremely long train ride.

* * *

DISCLAIMER: I realized I forgot this for the last four chapters. So, chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 (and now 6)—The characters are not mine. The setting is not mine. anything you recognize is by J.K. Rowling, not me.

* * *

A/N: So how are you guys liking this so far? Is it any good? I have thee more chapters written that I'll post soon, and then it'll be a longer wait while I write chapter 10. I'd love feedback!

Lexi


	7. Chapter 7

_Her back pressed against the wall. A moisture that was a mixture of sweat, water, and who-knows-what seeped on to her back. The Chamber of Secrets was cold, dark, and smelly. She was shivering, freezing in only her Hogwarts robes. Her mind was sluggish. A handsome boy stood in front of her, wearing his own Slytherin robes. He held a small black book in his hands. A smirk was on his lips._

_"You could be powerful. People would know your name." Tom Marvolo Riddle traced a long finger down her cheek. His skin was cold._

_"B-but…" Her voice trembled. "People would only know my name because of you."_

_"No, Ginevra. I'll make you great, and greatness is known! You will stand out from everyone." He smiled then, and it was a haunting expression._

_Ginny shook her head. Tom's hand fell away from her face and she pushed herself further into the wall. "But I don't want that. It's not me, Tom!" Her mind felt heavy; she couldn't think. She was tired…so tired._

_"But that is you, Ginevra! I know that you want it! I know you better than you know yourself. Your brothers all known who they are, and you are overshadowed by them You—"_

_"No." Ginny's voice was weak. She'd meant it to be strong, hadn't she? Had she? She couldn't remember._

_"Yes. you told me yourself, Ginevra." Tom's eyes flashed. she trembled. It was never good when his eyes flashed like that—it meant that he was mad, and when Tom was mad…_

_Tom hissed, drawing his wand. "I don't think you meant to disagree with me, did you Ginevra?" She willed herself to be smaller, to push into the wall and disappear forever._

_"No. Tom, please, no!" Ginny's voice was frantic—She knew what he was going to do._

_"Ginevra." Tom clucked his tongue while he spun his wand around in his fingers. "You were disrespectful. We can't have that now, can we, love?" Love, Ginevra—She hated his names for Her. Ginny was not his love, and only her father was allowed to call her Ginevra._

_"I'm sorry, love, but you have to learn some respect." The wand stopped, pointing casually at her chest. "Crucio." His voice held no remorse._

_The pain was unbearable. It seared through Ginny's body. She could feel anything but the pain, couldn't hear, see, smell, or think anything. It was just the pain._

_Then she heard a noise so terrible it made Ginny want to cover her ears and hide. A screaming, heart-wrenching and shrill, reached her ears. Who was there but Ginny and Tom? But there wasn't anybody—that screaming came from Ginny._

"Weasley!" Ginny's eyes shot open. She couldn't see anything. Tom. Chamber. Pain. She didn't know where she was. Her mind still was muddled. Ginny felt hands on her arms and she lashed out blindly. Tom? Ginny hit someone and heard an exclamation of pain.

Her vision focused, and Ginny settled on two boys. Blaise Zabini was rubbing his arm, wincing. She could see an alarmed look on his face. Draco Malfoy sat next to him, his eyes wide. He held his wand, which quivered in his grip.

"What the hell, Weasley?" Zabini ran his fingers through his hair. "One minute you were sleeping, then the next you were screaming like you saw a banshee!"

Ginny squeezed her eyes shut. Great. Just bloody brilliant. "Sorry," She muttered in a small voice, hugging her knees to her chest. Her breathing was heavy, and Ginny still remembered the look on Tom's face. The pressure against her stomach hurt It, but Ginny didn't move-she'd just labor through it.

"I thought you were dying." Ginny looked up. Malfoy was frowning, his eyes scared. But as soon as their eyes met, his expression hardened. "What happened, Weasley?" The bite was back in his voice.

"Nightmare," Ginny hissed—her chest was hurting her a lot. She released her legs again, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Not like you'd care."

"Neither of us wanted to have to explain why there was a dead girl in our compartment, Red." Zabini's voice was teasing again.

"Don't call me Red."

"Why not, Red?"

"Because it's sad. Pathetic, really. Is that actually the best you could come up with?" Ginny tried to push away the memory of Tom.

Zabini shrugged. "Doubt you could do better."

"Bloood-Traitor, Freckles, Weasel Crap, Potter Lover, Gryffindork, Gryff, the possibilites really are endless." Ginny's voice was sarcastic, and she rolled her eyes.

Zabini laughed. "Weasley, you're not too bad."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at him, as if to contradict him. "Actually, I think it's sad how easily how can come up with insults for yourself, Weasley."

Ginny rolled her eyes again.

Zabini suddenly jumped from his seat. "We're there," he said smoothly, grabbing his black leather bag.

Malfoy stood too, grabbing his bag. "Later, Weasley," he muttered, walking out after Zabini.

Ginny glared after them. Stupid Slytherins thought they were so amazing. She grabbed her bag and glanced out the window. In the distance, she could see Hogwarts castle, and she even thought that she could see the outline of Hagrid, standing by his hut.

Ginny picked up her sweater and took one last glance around the compartment. She realized that there was a navy colored jacket still sitting in the corner. She frowned, and picked it up. On the inside, in silver thread, was written: Property of Blaise F. Zabini. Ginny groaned—great, now she had to track him down and give it to him.

"Ginny?" The sudden noise made her jump, and my stomach throbbed.

"Neville?" Ginny scowled. "I thought that you were sick!"

Neville Longbottom stopped outside of her compartment and hoisted up his backpack. "Yeah, I was. I was feeling better so Gran thought I should just take the train." He frowned. "Didn't you get my owl?"

Ginny shook her head, and grimaced. "No, but I wish I had." She slipped the door shut behind her, and they started down the aisle. "I had to sit with Zabini and Malfoy."

"Why in Merlin's name would you do that?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "They wouldn't leave because apparently I was in 'their' compartment." She held up Blaise Zabini's jacket. "Zabini forgot this."

Neville shook his head. "You should've just left it."

"He's actually not that bad. Earlier he helped bring my trunk on the train—I'll consider this repaying the favor."

Neville stepped out on the platform. "You're too nice, Ginny."

She laughed. "You're probably right." Ginny slipped the jacket into her bag and followed him. "But that's better than not being nice at all."

* * *

Neville and Ginny followed the other students into the Great Hall. "There's almost no one here," he muttered to me, looking worried.

"I know," she agreed, "I'm surprised Mum let me come at all."

"Gran almost kept me home, but I told her some stuff about how I'd hate not to finish my education. Oh, that reminds me—have you seen Hermione? I was wondering if she got into Advanced Herbology."

Ginny stared at her shoes. That familiar feeling of dread crept back into her. "I thought you knew," hd muttered. "They're not coming back this year, Neville. They had to go on some mission Dumbledore left them."

Neville's eyes widened and Ginny saw her fear reflected on his face. "They're not coming back? You're kidding, right?"

She shook my head sadly. "Not kidding. They left after Bill and Fleur's wedding."

Neville was silent for a moment. "I—" He shook his head. "I don't even know what to say."

Ginny shrugged. "I know."

"But what about you and Harry? Are you still—"

"No." She didn't even want to talk about her and Harry. "He broke it off at Dumbledore's funeral."

Neville led them over to a bench at Gryffindor table. "Sorry, Ginny. I shouldn't have asked."

She laughed blankly, settling in to her seat. Ginny took a moment to be happy about the dearth of pain—lately whenever she moved her torso too fast, it hurt. She allowed herself to hope that maybe, just maybe, It could heal after all. "That's okay. I just see now that we weren't meant to be," She lied easily. That was what Ginny was telling everyone—she didn't want to still be Little Ginny Weasley, chasing after the Chosen One.

* * *

DISCLAIMER: no thing you recognize is mine.

a/n: so. The next few chapters got deleted. It will be a few days until another update. Hope you're enjoying it.

lexi


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